HARDIN VALLEY
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK
2016 – 2017
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
At Hardin Valley Elementary School, we will enable our students to achieve academic excellence, reach high expectations, and display respect within a safe, nurturing, and structured environment.
HARDIN VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
11445 Hardin Valley Road
Knoxville, TN 37932
Dr. Sunny Poe – Principal
Courtney Mansell – Assistant Principal
Kristi Whited - Assistant Principal
Phone (865)-470-2088 Fax (865)-560-1480
Knox County Website: www.knoxschools.org
(and follow the trail to Hardin Valley Elementary School)
KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS
SCHOOL CALENDAR 2016-17
ATTENDANCE
It is important for children to be in school every day, unless they are sick. The day begins at 7:45 a.m. Your child should be in his/her seat and ready to begin the day at this time. Children must be in school three hours and sixteen minutes to be counted present for the day, however, our normal day ends at 2:45 p.m. Students who have perfect attendance at the end of the school year will be given special certificates at Awards Day.
TARDINESS AND EARLY CHECK-OUT
Tardiness causes you to miss vital instructions and explanations at the beginning of the day. Traffic is always heavy from 7:20 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. and will not exempt tardies. Parents of students arriving at school after 7:45 a.m. must accompany their child to the office and sign their child in to school. Teachers will not be required to go over instructions for students with unexcused tardies. A pattern of routine early checkout is educationally inappropriate as well, and will be addressed as a tardy situation. If tardiness becomes habitual, the principal and/or social worker will contact the parents of the student, and steps must be taken to correct the problem. More than 3 tardies or early check-outs during a nine-week grading period will negatively affect perfect attendance awards.
ABSENCES
Knox County Board of Education policy allows students’ absences from school to be excused only for the following reasons:
1. Personal illness
2. Illness in the family temporarily requiring help from the child
3. Death in the family, with documentation
4. Recognized religious holidays regularly observed by persons of the student’s faith
5. Verifiable family emergency
Any absence not complying with the above reasons for excused absences will be considered as unexcused. Knox County Board of Education further states. “A student may be absent, due to illness, ten days per year with written parent excuse(s). Beyond ten days, a medical statement will be required.”
The appropriate written excuse for absence(s) must be submitted by the parent within five days of the time the child returns to school stating the reason for being absent. The approved, written note will be required within 5 school days to enable the status in the attendance computer to be changed from unexcused to excused. Knox County guidelines require a statement from a medical provider for illnesses beyond ten (10) days per school year. Students’ unexcused absences are reported to Juvenile Court.
A student who will be absent for an extended period of time (three weeks) due to illness or injury may receive homebound instruction. Parents should contact the school for information regarding the procedure to follow.
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
Students who arrive between 7:00 and 7:35 a.m. report to the gym for bus hall or to the cafeteria for breakfast. Students are dismissed from bus hall beginning at 7:35 a.m. All students must be in their classroom before 7:45 a.m.
Dismissal time starts with our buses loading at 2:40 p.m. Car riders will collect in the gym and will be dismissed after all buses have left the school (approximately 2:45 p.m.). We will provide each family with a brightly colored YELLOW sign (you may request duplicates) with your child’s name on it to place in your dashboard. This will help keep the flow of traffic moving at dismissal, as we call your child’s name on the walkie-talkie to come out from the gym and stand at an assigned cone. If you forget your “YELLOW SIGN,” you will be asked to show identification in the office in order to pick up your child. All students should be picked up or on their way home by 3:00 p.m. – unless they have after school activities (after school day care, tutoring, etc.). An after school child care program is available at the school. Please call the office for details.
If your child needs to change his/her method of getting home (i.e. from bus to car rider; or to go home with another parent), a signed and dated parent note should be delivered to your teacher that morning. The student will NOT be released to another adult unless written permission from the parent or guardian is provided. We no longer take phone calls asking to change your child’s method of getting home, due to enrollment size and security issues.
Prior to dismissal time, all students must be signed out in the office before leaving school. Again, it is possible that we may ask to see proper identification. If you check your child out of school earlier in the day, please come to the office, not the classroom, and we will call your child down from the classroom. After 2:20, no early checkouts will be allowed, except for emergencies, due to the difficulties of communicating to the classrooms at the end of the day. You will have to wait outside until 2:45, like the rest of the parents. Also, a pattern of routine early checkout is clearly educationally inappropriate for children, and will be addressed as a tardy situation.
TRAFFIC PLAN
The drop off and pick up area for car riders will only be allowed along the upper driveway off Hardin valley Road at the top of the hill. As you can see by the MAP at the end of this Handbook, this drive, adjacent to the parking lot, will be one-way throughout the school day. Parents are not to let students exit the car until they reach the drop-off area near the front entrance of the school where assistance from safety patrols/school personnel will be given by opening car doors. These cars will be given priority right of way over cars exiting the parking lot. At no time should students be dropped off or let out of cars in the parking lot area of the school. Parents need to park the car in a striped parking slot, and then personally escort students across the crosswalk to the sidewalk in front of the school. For the safety of all students, please study carefully the map at the back of this handbook, and use the designated drop off lane each and every morning. Please also refrain from parking in the handicap spots unless you have a handicap license. These spots are used every day and should not be used as a quick means to drop your child off at school.
BUS TRANSPORTATION
Bus transportation is provided for children for who reside in the Hardin Valley Zone and who live at least one mile or more from the school. Bus service is provided to and from the student’s residence only. A schedule of routes and stops will be posted near the front doors of the school and will be available on the website. The Supervisor of Transportation, who you may reach the by calling 594-1550, arranges these schedules.
Riding the bus is a privilege, and students riding the bus should know that this experience is an extension of the school day. Therefore, bus riders are expected to follow the rules and regulations regarding safety and behavior on the bus and at all bus stop locations. Assigned school personnel will be on duty at the school to meet the buses each morning and to monitor boarding of the buses at dismissal time. Buses load and unload at the back of the building, our designated bus loading and unloading area. Parents should not drop students off at the designated bus loading area. Remember, the drop off area for car riders is at the front entrance of the school, as described in our traffic plan map, located at the back of this handbook. Anytime a student needs to ride a bus other than his/her assigned bus, a dated, signed note from the parent or guardian must be sent to the principal before the change may occur. Space must be available on the bus and both the principal and bus driver must agree to the change. The note is good for one day only and must state the bus #’s for both morning and afternoon routes. This policy will be strictly enforced; students will not be allowed to ride another bus without a parent/guardian note.
New this school year, each bus is equipped with video cameras face the children as well as the driver. As a parent, you can also track the location of your child’s regular in-zone assigned school bus. Not every bus has this feature, but some do. The information can be found on knoxschools.org under Families>Bus Stop Locator>Here Comes the Bus.
Buses are contracted through Knox County Schools. The only control the school has is over student discipline. All other issues, must contact the Transportation Department directly at 594-1550.
VISITORS
A Photo ID will still be required to enter the building. Office staff will have to check everyone in at the front office for lunches and volunteering, and often compare it to our emergency cards. This can be a very time-consuming process but clearly worth the effort, and we ask for your patience and cooperation in advance. Volunteers for the classrooms must still be screened and must be scheduled by the teachers in advance. Knox County Schools has a process for background checks for volunteers in the schools that is required. Please, no “drop-in” volunteering, as it would require the office to interrupt the teacher to approve a visit.
DRESS STANDARDS
The standards for elementary school dress reflect “common sense” and a concern for each child’s comfort, safety, cleanliness, and sense of modesty. There is a strong relationship between neat, appropriate attire and a positive learning environment. Apparel or appearance which tends to draw attention to an individual rather than to a learning situation must be avoided.
To help create the best possible learning environment for elementary students, the following standards for student dress must be observed in all Knox County Elementary Schools:
1. Pants must not sag below the waist and must be at a safe length.
2. Head apparel, except for religious or medical reasons, must not be worn inside the school building.
3. Footwear is required and must be safe and appropriate for indoor or outdoor physical activity.
4. Clothing or accessories may not display offensive, vulgar language or images, and must not advertise products which students may not legally purchase.
5. For students in Grades 3-5 “Short shorts,” miniskirts, and skin-tight outer materials such as spandex are inappropriate attire.
6. For students in Grades 3-5, shirts, blouses and dresses must completely cover the abdomen, back, and shoulders, and shirts or tops must cover the waistband of pants, shorts, or skirts, with no midriff visible.
The school administration reserves the right to determine whether a student’s attire and appearance is within acceptable limits. In matters of opinion, the judgment of the principal/designee shall prevail. The principal may allow exceptions for school-wide programs or special classroom activities. The teachers and the principal will administer appropriate consequences for policy infractions.
DISPENSION OF MEDICATION
STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY ANY TYPE OF MEDICATON TO SCHOOL. As a general policy, medicines are not administered to children at school. However, in special circumstances a Medical Information Form may be obtained by parents from the school office. This form should be filled out by both the parent and the physician prescribing the medication for the child. Once completed, the parent must bring the form and medication to the school office and arrangements will be made for the teacher or a designee to administer the medication at the prescribed time. Under no circumstance should a student transport medication to school.
SCHOOL CLINIC
Hardin Valley Elementary School is very fortunate to have a school clinic available to all students most days of the week. This service is provided through the volunteer efforts and financial support of our PTA. If emergency medical treatment is necessary, the parents will be contacted. If it is determined that a child is ill (fever, vomiting, severe headache) the parent will be notified and will be expected to pick the child up. Please make sure up-to-date emergency information is on file at the school office. Your child must be fever and vomit free for 24 hours before returning to school. Contact the school if you would like to be a clinic volunteer! We can use the help!
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE PLAN
The entire staff of Hardin Valley Elementary School is committed to establishing an atmosphere throughout our school in which children will feel safe, secure, happy, and have a maximum opportunity to learn and achieve.
Students who follow classroom and school rules are kind and considerate of others, and perform to the best of his/her ability. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to have established rules and guidelines for students.